Every major television show probably has strict rules for how actors ought to behave while they’re on set filming, but Jessica Alba recently claimed that life on the “Beverly Hills 90210” set could get a little extra severe. While appearing on “Hot Ones,” the actor alleged that she was not allowed to look into the eyes of any of her co-stars when she guest-starred on two episodes of the teen drama back in 1998.
“You’re not allowed to make eye contact with any one of the cast members, or you’ll be thrown off the set,” Alba claims she was told. She was asked by host Sean Evans to compare the experience with that of playing a bully on her first major TV series, “The Secret World of Alex Mack,” and it was clear that she enjoyed the latter experience much more.
Stories like Alba’s don’t come as a big shock to fans, since “90210” was pretty notorious for the level of behind-the-scenes drama it engendered during its run. But there’s just one problem with Alba’s claim: some of the 90210 cast deny that any such rule ever existed for guest stars and newbies appearing on the show. “‘Don’t look at the stars of the show’ was never an edict that came down on our show. I don’t know who told Jessica Alba not to look at us,” Jason Priestly said on KiSS 92.5’s “The Roz and Mocha Show.”
Jessica Alba’s 90210 co-stars claim no such rule existed
Jason Priestly is one of several former “Beverly Hills 90210” stars who have spoken out about Jessica Alba’s claims, saying they’re untrue. “I always went out of my way to make sure that our guests always felt incredibly welcomed,” Priestly said on “The Roz and Mocha Show,” adding, “I would always go and talk to them and make sure they knew this was a place where we wanted them to succeed.”
In a since-pulled clip from the next edition of their “90210MG” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth insist that they have no knowledge about the rule, with Spelling blaming a production memo that may have circulated among the show’s crew without the stars’ knowledge. “Tori, did you — I just need to know, did you tell her not to look me in the eye? Because I had all the scenes with her. If anybody didn’t want to have their eyes looked into, it would’ve been me. But I don’t remember, because I have the world’s worst memory,” said Garth — who admitted to having a beef with another “90210” co-star — in the clip.
Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering have also both weighed in as well. Ziering told Access Hollywood, “It saddens me because it lessened the experience for her — certainly didn’t slow her down in life — but it’s hard to hear that there was any negativity on the set.” Green, meanwhile, said on Instagram that he’d never heard of the story either. Were guest stars given a raw deal or was Jessica Alba mistaken? Perhaps some other famous face who gained notoriety after being on the show will back her up.
